Churchill Polar Bears 2

I’ve been back from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, for a couple weeks, but I still haven’t posted photos of all the cute cubs we saw.

During the seven days I was in the Great White North, I spent two days on the Tundra Buggies. If all goes well, you don’t see bears in town, you see them out on the tundra. There was a mauling in Churchill the day before I arrived, and there were a couple nights we were woken by cracker shells as the polar bear police chased bears out of town, but I only saw them from the comfort and safety of 12-foot high vehicles.

One person I was sharing a house with had the clarity of thought to look out his window in the middle of the night when he heard cracker shells. He watched the bear police (in a truck) chasing a big bear down the alley across from our house. I slept on the other side of the house and wouldn’t have seen anything even if I was motivated enough to get out of bed and look.

I prefer seeing bears in places I am not walking around though, and was super lucky to witness lots of moms and cubs in the wild. Polar Bears International, along with Frontiers North Adventures and Explore.org hosted several people from the media the week I was there. It was Polar Bears Week and we wanted to get the message out that human caused climate change is putting polar bears in a very precarious position survival-wise. I went out with the NBC crew and a gang of scientists to see what we could find.

If you aren’t lucky enough to work for a polar bear conservation organization, you can still go to Churchill and see bears. All you need is money and a warm coat.

Frontiers North Adventures has knowledgeable and funny, friendly guides. They can set up your whole trip–from flights to accommodations to Tundra Buggy excursions. You can book day trips through them, or spend a couple nights out on the tundra in the Tundra Buggy Lodge. They also do beluga whale watching trips in the summer.

If you are more of a do-it-yourselfer, you can book flights from Winnipeg through Calm Air and stay at the Tundra Inn.

If you need a break from bears (what?) book a dog sledding trip with Dave at Wapusk Adventures. He’ll regale you with stories of gnarly sled dog races and share some of the history of his people, the Metis.

Be sure to stop in at the Eskimo Museum while you are in town. Over 850 high quality Inuit carvings are on permanent display. The exhibits include historic and contemporary sculptures of stone, bone, and ivory, as well as archaeological and wildlife specimens. I could spend hours there.

The Parks Canada/Wapusk National Park visitor center is also a must see when you are in Churchill. The small space is packed with natural and cultural history.

Other TravelingMel Churchill posts

• Bears, dogs, and town {2011}
• Cape Merry, bear jail, sunsets and polar bears {2011}
• Tundra Buggy Lodge {2011}
• Bears, bears, bears {2011}
• Inuksuk, Arctic wildlife {2011}
• Touring Churchill {2011}
• Churchill {2012}
• Churchill polar bears {2013}
• Big Bear {2013}
• Tour of Churchill {2013}
• Churchill polar bears—moms and cubs {2013}